The two champions who received mini reworks in patch 12.9 are Olaf and Taliyah. Between the two, League of Legends content creator and analyst Nick “LS” De Cesare is more excited about Olaf, and feels the complete opposite with regard to Taliyah.

In fact, he described her as a “bottom five champion” in the game. The spell caster has been completely absent from the meta in Season 12, and was not picked once in major leagues. In solo queue, she’s been played more in the support role than mid or jungle.

In this latest patch, Riot Games acknowledged the “mechanical complexity and punishing nature of her kit,” and made changes to revive her presence in mid and jungle, making her slightly easier to execute with.

Taliyah mini-rework update in patch 12.9

Base Stats

Base health decreased from 531 to 500
Base health regen decreased from 7 to 6.5
Health regen growth decreased from 0.7 to 0.65
Base mana increased from 425 to 470
Base mana regen decreased from 9.34 to 8
Mana regen growth decreased from 0.85 to 0.8
Base armor decreased from 20 to 18
Move speed decreased from 335 to 330

Pool Party Taliyah and Pool Party Orianna wallpaper — Credit: Riot Games

Passive – Rock Surfing

Out of combat bonus move speed adjusted from 20-45% (levels 1-18) to 10/20/35/55% (levels 1/9/12/15)
Passive fall off time when not near terrain increased from 1 to 2.5 seconds

Q – Threaded Volley

Mana Cost increased from 50/60/70/80/90 to 60/65/70/75/80
Cooldown decreased from 7/6/5/4/3 to 6.5/5.5/4.5/3.5/2.5 seconds
1-Rock Damage decreased from 70/95/120/145/170 (+45% AP) to 38/61/84/107/130 (+50% AP)
Damage reduction from subsequent stone shards increased from 50% to 60%
5-Rock damage decreased from 210/285/360/435/510 (+135% AP) to 98.8/158.6/218.4/278.2/338 (+130% AP)
Damage reduction from subsequent stone shards against monsters increased from 25% to 60%
(New) Super effective: Each Stone Shard now deals an additional 30 (+10% AP) damage against monsters
(New) Scattered stones: Stone Shards now deal damage in a 175 radius area of effect (approximately 1.6 Teemos)
(New) Rock solid: Q – Threaded Volley will now continue to cast while Taliyah is in Stasis
(New) Not just a rock: Casting Q – Threaded Volley on Worked Ground now consumes the Worked Ground to fire a single Boulder that deals double damage [76/122/168/214/260 (+100% AP)] and slows all targets hit in a 225 AoE radius by 30/35/40/45/50% for 2 seconds
Mana cost on worked ground increased from 1 to 20
Minimum cooldown on worked ground decreased from 1 to 0.75 seconds
Worked ground duration increased from 25 to 30 seconds
Worked ground radius increased from 300 to 400
(Updated) Level grounds: The size of Worked Ground on Howling Abyss now matches Summoner’s Rift

W – Seismic Shove

Mana cost decreased from 70/80/90/100/110 to 40/30/20/10/0
Cooldown decreased from 16/15/14/13/12 to 14/12.5/11/9.5/8 seconds
Knock up radius increased from 200 to 225
Time delay before knock up decreased from 0.8 to 0.75 seconds
(Removed) Soft like sand: W – Seismic Shove no longer deals damage

E – Unraveled Earth

Cooldown adjusted from 16/14/12/10/8 to 16/15/14/13/12 seconds
Damage on initial cast increased from 50/75/100/125/150 (+40% AP) to 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% AP)
Slow strength increased from 20% (+4% AP) to 20/22/24/26/28% (AP ratio removed)
Boulder detonation damage decreased from 50/60/70/80/90 (+30% AP) to 25/45/65/85/105 (+30% AP)
Damage reduction per subsequent boulder hit increased from 15% to 25%
Maximum boulder detonation damage decreased from 155/186/217/248/279 (+93% AP) to 62.5/112.5/162.5/212.5/262.5 (+75% AP)
Delay between casting and spawning first row of boulders decreased from 0.1 to 0 seconds
Delay between spawning rows of boulders after the first row increased from 0.1 to 0.17 seconds
(Updated) Tectonic Shifts: E – Unraveled Earth now spawns 6 rows of boulders extending outwards from Taliyah with 4 boulders per row (previously spawned 4 rows of boulders with 6 boulders per row)
(New) A rock and a hard place: Boulders now stun enemies that dash through them for the duration of the dash + 0.6/0.7/0.8/0.9/1 seconds. (Note: the max stun duration is 2 seconds and monsters are always stunned for the max duration).
(Removed) It’s just a boulder: E – Unraveled Earth no longer detonates to deal additional damage after 4 seconds

R – Weaver’s Wall

Range decreased from 3000/4500/6000 to 2500/4500/6500
Dash range when jumping off wall increased from 400 to 700
Dash speed when jumping off wall increased from 1000 to 1200
(Updated) Skipping rocks: Moving Taliyah while she is riding the Weaver’s Wall now causes Taliyah to dash to the location clicked, up to the maximum dash range instead of dropping her perpendicular to the wall.
(Updated) Surfs up: Dashing when jumping off of the wall is now more forgiving when trying to dash through terrain
(New) Not so fast little sparrow: Damage from enemy champions or structures now prevents Taliyah from casting R – Weaver’s Wall for 3 seconds
(Removed) The pioneers used to ride these for miles: Taking damage no longer knocks Taliyah off her wall

What these adjustments mean for Taliyah players

First of all, Taliyah players will feel slower from the get-go because the out of combat bonus move speed from her passive is down in the early levels. It’s only at level 15 that it surpasses her previous limit by 10%.

Threaded Volley’s base damage has also been gutted. It is down from 210 to 98.8 at level one, with reduced scaling, so don’t expect to clear minion waves or poke enemy champions in lane. What’s more, even though its cooldown has decreased, its mana cost has increased by 10 at all levels.

When it comes to Worked Ground, there’s a whole new mechanic at play. Gone are the days where players attempt to find new ground to refresh the 5-Rock Threaded Volley. Now, if you cast Q on Worked Ground, it will reward you with a single Boulder that deals double damage, so it’s crucial that you land it.

Freljord Taliyah skin official wallpaper — Credit: Riot Games

Her second ability, Seismic Shove (W), received the same treatment as Swain’s Nevermove pull back: it no longer deals damage, which makes them less impactful in the support role.

It is, however, slightly easier to land since its knock up radius has been increased by 25, and the time delay before knock up decreased.

Taliyah’s power has shifted to her E, Unraveled Earth. It is longer rather than wider, spawning six rows of boulders extending outwards from her with four boulders per row, with no delay. Its reach, range, initial damage, and slow effect have effectively increased, so enemies farther away will have to think twice about engaging her.

The coolest thing about Unraveled Earth is its new crowd control effect, where Boulders now stun enemies that dash through them for the duration of the dash. With so many increasingly mobile champions in the game, Taliyah’s previous kit wasn’t enough to self-peel, so these changes to E are definitely empowering.

Lastly, the key thing to note about Weaver’s Wall is that Taliyah can now jump much farther than before, as the dash range has been increased from 400 to 700.

That said, she can’t just pick up the pace and run away using her wall anymore, because damage from enemy champions or structures will prevent her from casting her ultimate for three seconds.

With so many subparts in each of her abilities, it’s no wonder that LS said in his patch 12.9 rundown that she has too many “weird mini games.”

As a long-time Taliyah main, League of Legends streamer and content creator Drew “Midbeast” Timbs has also been playing the new iteration of the champion on the Korean ranked ladder.

So far, it seems that her early game has been gutted, and she’ll only start coming online from level nine onwards. In team fights, she has a much bigger impact and higher burst potential than before, so building Luden’s Tempest and Zhonya’s Hourglass might be more viable than Liandry’s Anguish and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter.

Read the full patch 12.9 notes here.

Taliyah has too many ‘weird mini games,’ says LS after patch 12.9 update

Taliyah mini-rework update in patch 12.9

What these adjustments mean for Taliyah players